December 30, 2017

Outer Journey 12/30/17

I have been packing for my New Orleans journey, and have been having issues with what type of clothing to pack. I have been watching the weather, and disappointed in the temperatures. I assumed that it would slightly warmer then the temperatures have been. Should I bring my winter coat? Light jacket? I will pack my computer, journal for blogging, kindle, and an extra battery for my phone. I am hoping that there is WiFi that works on the train. Bringing a book on this trip sounds like a wonderful idea also. I hope that I will be able to find some quiet time to read. I plan on bringing minimal snack foods for the train. I plan on eating dinner prior to arriving at the train station in Champaign. No purchases have been made for this trip. I just returned from a trip to Mexico a few weeks ago. Anything that I would need to purchase for this trip was purchased before leaving for Mexico. The research that I have done for this trip include reading about the French Quarter, St. Louis Cathedral, Old Ursuline Convent, and the Cabildo. The reason I looked into these places of interest is that I wanted to have a better understanding of where we will be touring while on this travel course. When I plan trips for my family I search to find the best sights to see and read about where we are going prior to arrival. There are not many arrangements that I have needed to make prior to starting this course. I have taken a week off of work. That involved turning in a request off form to my supervisor. This request was immediately approved because my supervisor is also completing her RN to BSN degree. My husband will take care of our children and maintain our home. I plan on being able to enjoy this time knowing that my children will be well taken care of. Work will be long forgotten once I complete my call schedule for Saturday. I am nervous that I will be missing the birth of my oldest son's child. The baby is due on January 15th. Basically, he could come at any time now. I am bringing a blanket and smaller pillow for the train ride. I have a feeling that train will be cold and hard to sleep in. I want to pack appropriately so that I can easily get to things such as my computer, chargers, and books while riding on the train. My class preparations are to continue working on my groups E Travel Guide and working on my personal blog. My personal blog page has me a little stressed. I have been working so much that finding time to work on this has been extremely difficult. My goal is to have completed by the end of Sunday evening, so that I am able to finish packing and spending time with my children on Monday prior to my departure.

Inner Journey 12/30/17

I do not know what to expect from this travel course. I think that we will be hustling to keep up with our itinerary. It will be fun and entertaining, but there will be lots to cover in a short period of time. I have hopes that the course will be stress free and not too overwhelming. Calm atmosphere with many scenes to catch. As I mentioned in my outer blog I am really hoping that the weather will be nice, but have been monitoring and the temperature is generally in the 40-degree range. I guess there are positives and negatives to those temperatures. Walking in that weather will keep your body at a nice temperature. However, warmer temperatures would prevent carrying of additional clothing and lighter layers could be worn. I hope to learn about the different cultures in New Orleans and the beliefs that the individuals who live there have. I want to have a personal understanding. I decided to take this course because I have always wanted to go to New Orleans. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. As I am getting older I have decided that now is the time to do the traveling that I have always dreamt of doing. It is going to be a lot of work but huge bonus that a semester class will be completed in just one week. Taking this class can also help me in seeing how time is budgeted and how to do cram many sight seeing events, tours and fun into a small window of time. I am looking forward to learning about the different cultures in New Orleans. I am excited about the ghost tours. I personally don’t believe in ghosts. I believe that they do not exist because I am fearful of seeing one. I can’t wait to go into an authentic voodoo shop. I look forward to meeting new people and sharing stories and experiences. I can’t wait and look forward to getting this adventure started.